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By Amanda Bialek, Megan Stanley and Toni Pennello

Since 1987, Women’s History Month has been celebrated in the U.S. throughout March. Entering its 31st year, the month is a celebration of the contributions women have made to culture, history and society.

While the designation of the month aims to look back at the incredible things women have done, it is also an opportunity to take a look at the current state of women in the U.S.

Gender discrepancies in the area of poverty are particularly wide.

According to the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), in the U.S. more than 16 million women live in poverty whereas it is 11 million for men. The poverty rate for elderly women is 10.6 percent, up 3 percent since 2015.

In terms of economics, the United States Department of Labor reported that the median annual earnings for all women have increased from $34,190 in 1987 to $41,554 in 2016. Across the same period, the annual earnings for all men remained around $51,000.

 

However, Hispanic women still receive the least median annual income, at $31,522. The National Women’s Law Center reported that Hispanic women experience the largest pay gap, earning 54 cents to every dollar that a non-Hispanic man earned.

In 2016, Talk Poverty reported that 13.9 percent of women aged 18 to 64 fell below the poverty line compared to 10.7 percent of men living in Pennsylvania in 2016. The percentage of households that are food insecure is 12.5 percent.

 

In Luzerne County, there are several organizations that exist to help women in need.

Education

The Ruth Matthews Bourger Women with Children program at Misericordia University helps single mothers living at the poverty level achieve a college education so they can pursue a professional career.

They house the mothers and their children and also provide them with free books.

There are only eight programs of its kind in the U.S. and it is the only one available in Pennsylvania.

The program was established in 2000 and 26 women have graduated from the program. The program has a perfect success rate, with 100 percent receiving a placement in their desired career paths. Children of first generation graduates are now reportedly entering college themselves.

In 2016, the program was expanded to be able to educate 16 women at one time, making it the largest in the country that exclusively helps single mothers.

 

“Single mother households in Luzerne County represent the largest population of families at the poverty level. We hope to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty two generations at a time,” Katherine Pohlidal, director of the program said. “This program is not a hand-out, but rather a hand-up.”

 

“Our student mothers and their children thrive with this program, succeed in their goals and in turn, give back to their communities,” Pohlidal added.

 

Pohlidal said that she grew up in the area and feels motivated to help those in need in the region by providing access to education, and hopefully providing opportunity to leave poverty.

Food Security

To help those who need food and nutritional education, Clancy Harrison, a registered dietitian, author and TedX speaker helps run the Al Beech/West Side Food Pantry in Kingston.

Harrison has been involved with the food pantry for nearly seven years. She said the food pantry serves 70 families each week, providing each family with four days worth of food. To assist the mothers that come to the food pantry, Harrison said that she always tries to have diapers.

 

“Mothers really need [diapers], and it helps them alleviate that stress. A case of diapers can be $40 if it’s pampers, and $40 is a lot of money in one month,” she explained. “We always request for hygiene products like shampoo, laundry detergent, toilet paper.”

 

Harrison also works with The Ark, an organization in Kingston for low-income mothers-to-be or mothers with children under two. The Ark takes women to the West Side Food Pantry, and Harrison teaches them how to make baby food and provides them with information about infant feeding.

“It’s a very valuable resource. The women come back to me because eating habits of children change,” Harrison said.

Over the past four years, Harrison has been a consultant for the Women with Children, which also sets up food pantries in the homes the mothers stay in. Harrison delivers boxes of fresh produce to the mothers.

 

“It’s more about having safe access to food, making sure they don’t feel stressed about having access to food or so that they don’t feel stress about feeding their child,” Harrison said.

Harrison also mentors some of the mothers and advises them on their own nutrition.

“Once you become a mom, you become a mom to all children. I think the fact we have so many children in the United States food insecure ... just fuels my passion to make sure all kids are fed. So until we eradicate childhood hunger, I’m going to keep doing my work,” she said.

“My mission has become to uplift the voice of the voiceless—there’s so much shame around asking for food assistance,” Harrison continued.

“I let the women I work with be my teacher, and I don’t come in as the expert. I come in as someone who is trying to make a situation better. The people I work with, it’s their situation, so they are the experts.”

 

Economic Empowerment

 

Dress for Success is an international organization that provides women with tools to achieve economic independence. From clothing to confidence and beyond, this organization aims to help women obtain what they need to nail the job interview and succeed in the workforce with professional apparel to boost their self-esteem.

 

More than one million lives have been touched by the efforts of Dress for Success, according to its website. The organization has expanded to more than 150 cities in 30 countries since starting as a basement boutique in a Manhattan church in 1996.

 

New York City is home to Dress for Success Worldwide, which oversees and gives support to their affiliates across the globe, according to its website.  

While working in New York for a number of years on Wall Street, Linda Armstrong, now founder and executive director of Dress for Success Luzerne County, volunteered with the worldwide organization.

“I saw the difference it made in people’s lives and thought we needed one in Luzerne County,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong recalled reading a magazine article focused on plus-sized women, which deepened her inspiration for helping other women. This article asked readers to imagine how different their life would be if they did not have resources for clothing.  

 

“That really inspired me. I was living quite well at the time, and I realized that I was a divorced single mother, survivor of domestic violence, recovering alcoholic, and it was for the grace of God that I wasn’t a client [of Dress for Success],” she said.

 

Fast forward a few years, and Armstrong made her Dress for Success dreams a reality in downtown Wilkes-Barre.  

 

“We provide a network of support, professional attire and development tools to help our women thrive in work and life,” Armstrong said.

 

Since opening their doors back in 2010, Dress for Success Luzerne County has helped approximately 1200 women. Armstrong said over 90 percent of their clients are single mothers raising two to three children on their own.

 

“My vision is that we would take a seat at the table, that we would become the go-to people on women’s issues and that we would just make sure women in this area are empowered to make their lives better in the lives of their family,” she said.

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